The failing US patent system is getting ever more mainstream - The New York Times is running a long and details piece on the failings of the system, especially in relation to the technology industry most of us hold so dearly. Most of the stuff in there isn't new to us - but there's two things in the article I want to highlight.

Could you imagine if for example Nintendo had patented scrolling a screen to represent larger worlds? So many awesome games would never have been made.

Or, since Nintendo wasn't the first to use that method, what if even earlier we go back to Atari and if they had patented "using a television display for interactive entertainment purposes" (video games). The entire software industry would be completely different now.

This is in essence the same as "search for contacts on a map" or whatever. Which by the way my N9 supports as well...

Software patents are pretty much crap and should be done away with. Yes it's 'written' in a 'language' so should be covered by copyright laws, just like a novel would be. Hell, anymore a large percentage of movies are simply software (CGI). They aren't covered by patents (at least not yet.)

Also, how do we mindlessly think that if Software Patents were abolished in the USA that it'd cause a lack of innovation. Some of the best software out there comes from countries that either don't have software patents at all, or are very lenient towards them.

Good example is The Witcher. Sorry, still stuck on games..

Copyright really should be enough for software creators. Or copyleft if you prefer those licenses...